Intentional child and adolescent homicides in Milan (Italy): A 30-year interdisciplinary study.

This study aims to discuss the forensic and criminological implications of child homicides in the territory of Milan, Italy. The authors present a retrospective study on all the cases of child and adolescent homicides, that were observed at the Institute of Legal Medicine of Milan (Italy) in the last 30 years (from January 1991 to December 2020). A total of 46 child homicides were collected, focusing on the sociological features, by highlighting peculiar cases, risk factors, potential changing social trends, and comparing our cases with the current literature. The analysis revealed a statistically significant relationship (p < 0.05) for male adolescents and indicated that adolescent homicides were more frequently perpetrated in extrafamilial contexts. In contrast, neonaticides and infanticides were mainly committed at home. Furthermore, the Fisher's Exact test revealed that child murders were mainly committed by immigrants in the Milan district after 2005 (p < 0.05). The two main causes of death were due to sharp and firearm injuries. While the relationship between homicide clusters and homicides committed by sharp objects was not significant, adolescent homicides were mainly committed using firearms (p < 0.05). The present study may help to identify risk factors for homicides against child and adolescent. Consequently, policies that identify, prevent, and minimize this extreme violence should be designed to interrupt the vicious circle of such dreadful murderous events. Child and adolescent homicides deserve additional focus and better education for healthcare professionals and further research should be carried out to develop therapeutic and caring strategies.

Counter-strategies to infanticide: The importance of cubs in determining lion habitat selection and social interactions.

Animal social and spatial behaviours are inextricably linked. Animal movements are driven by environmental factors and social interactions. Habitat structure and changing patterns of animal space use can also shape social interactions. Animals adjust their social and spatial behaviours to reduce the risk of offspring mortality. In territorial infanticidal species, two strategies are possible for males: they can stay close to offspring to protect them against rivals (infant-defence hypothesis) or patrol the territory more intensively to prevent rival intrusions (territorial-defence hypothesis). Here, we tested these hypotheses in African lions (Panthera leo) by investigating how males and females adjust their social and spatial behaviours in the presence of offspring. We combined datasets on the demography and movement of lions, collected between 2002 and 2016 in Hwange National Park (Zimbabwe), to document the presence of cubs (field observations) and the simultaneous movements of groupmates and competitors (GPS tracking). We showed a spatial response of lions to the presence of offspring, with females with cubs less likely to select areas close to waterholes or in the periphery of the territory than females without cubs. In contrast, these areas were more selected by males when there were cubs in the pride. We also found social responses. Males spent more time with females as habitat openness increased but the presence of cubs in the pride did not influence the average likelihood of observing males with females. Furthermore, rival males relocated further after an encounter with pride males when cubs were present in the prides, suggesting that the presence of cubs leads to a more vigorous repulsion of competitors. Males with cubs in their pride were more likely to interact with male competitors on the edge of the pride's home range and far from the waterholes, suggesting that they are particularly assiduous in detecting and repelling rival males during these periods. In general, the strategies to avoid infanticide exhibited by male lions supported the territorial-defence hypothesis. Our study contributes to answer the recent call for a behavioural ecology at the spatial-social interface.

Antagonistic circuits mediating infanticide and maternal care in female mice.

In many species, including mice, female animals show markedly different pup-directed behaviours based on their reproductive state1,2. Naive wild female mice often kill pups, while lactating female mice are dedicated to pup caring3,4. The neural mechanisms that mediate infanticide and its switch to maternal behaviours during motherhood remain unclear. Here, on the basis of the hypothesis that maternal and infanticidal behaviours are supported by distinct and competing neural circuits5,6, we use the medial preoptic area (MPOA), a key site for maternal behaviours7-11, as a starting point and identify three MPOA-connected brain regions that drive differential negative pup-directed behaviours. Functional manipulation and in vivo recording reveal that oestrogen receptor α (ESR1)-expressing cells in the principal nucleus of the bed nucleus of stria terminalis (BNSTprESR1) are necessary, sufficient and naturally activated during infanticide in female mice. MPOAESR1 and BNSTprESR1 neurons form reciprocal inhibition to control the balance between positive and negative infant-directed behaviours. During motherhood, MPOAESR1 and BNSTprESR1 cells change their excitability in opposite directions, supporting a marked switch of female behaviours towards the young.

Monstrous Mothering: Understanding the Causes of and Responses to Infanticide.

The deliberate killing of a child by its mother is abhorrent and is associated in the minds of many with mental illness and in particular with postnatal depression. However, at least 50% of perpetrators are neither "mad" nor "bad", and mothers who kill children are not "unhinged" by pregnancy or childbirth. We propose a different explanation: "blind rage" or "overwhelmed syndrome", whereby parents, stressed to breaking point by sleep deprivation or incessant baby crying, respond by lethally harming their child contrary to previous behaviour. The roots of this blind rage may be found in psychosocial disturbances, including the mother's own unsatisfactory experience of parenting which has caused attachment disorders. The legal framework guiding decisions to prosecute and structuring sentencing decision-making following conviction should acknowledge the exceptional stress experienced by such mothers postnatally. Health professionals including midwives and obstetricians should increase their vigilance and arrange referrals for mothers at risk of causing harm or committing infanticide.

How a geneticist led an effort to free a convicted serial murderer.

"Science has been heard," says Carola Vinuesa after mother jailed for killing her four kids was pardoned and released.

Mother-offspring proximity maintenance as an infanticide avoidance strategy in bornean orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus wurmbii).

Sexually-selected infanticide by males is widespread across primates. Maternal protection is one of many infanticide avoidance strategies employed by female primates. Bornean orangutan (Pongo pygmaeus wurmbii) mothers with younger offspring are less social with males than mothers with older offspring. Additionally, the distance between a mother and offspring decreases in the presence of male conspecifics, but not female conspecifics. We hypothesized that mothers are responsible for the change in mother-offspring proximity when males are present. Using a year of behavioral data from orangutans in Gunung Palung National Park, we tested whether the Hinde Index, a ratio of the number of approaches and leaves between two individuals, was indicative of mother or offspring proximity maintenance across different social groupings. The semi-solitary social organization of orangutans allows us to observe different social groupings. We found that the mother-offspring Hinde Index was typically indicative of offspring maintenance of proximity. However, the presence of male conspecifics was associated with an increase in the Hinde Index which indicates that mothers are responsible for the decrease in mother-offspring distance when males are present. The decrease in mother-offspring distances and increase in Hinde Index when males are present indicates that mothers react to the presence of males in a protective manner. We suggest this may be an infanticide avoidance behavior by mother orangutans.

Neural activation patterns associated with mouthbrooding, maternal care, infanticide and fry release in an African cichlid fish.

Parental care has evolved several times and is present across taxa. Parental care behaviors, such as food provisioning and protection, are critical for offspring success. However, infanticide can co-exist with parental care in the same species. The mechanisms underlying the switch from care to consumption and from offspring dependence to independence are relatively unknown, especially in fishes, the oldest and largest group of vertebrates. Mouthbrooding, an extreme example of parental care present in dozens of genera of fishes, provides an excellent opportunity to investigate the brain regions important for parental care. The maternal mouthbrooding African cichlid fish Astatotilapia burtoni broods developing young inside the mouth for approximately 14 days, then provides post-release maternal care by protecting fry inside the mouth when threatened. Following the post-release maternal care phase, females can exhibit infanticide and consume their own offspring. We used immunohistochemistry for the neural activation marker pS6 to identify differences in neural activation among mouthbrooding, maternal-care-providing and infanticide-exhibiting females, and between pre- and post-release fry. We identified five brain regions (Dc-5, ATn, nPPa, Vd-c and Dl-g) that are differentially activated among mouthbrooding, maternal care and infanticide females as well as six regions (Dm, Vv, Vd, Vs-m, TPp, PGZ and INL of retina) differentially activated between pre- and post-release fry. This study identifies both shared and distinct circuitry that may support transitions between parental care states and from care to infanticide, as well as regions in developed fry that support the transition from pre- to post-release.

Denial of pregnancy and neonaticide: A historical overview and case report.

While denial of pregnancy and neonaticide are rare, they are potentially associated and share some risk factors. Neonaticide has been proposed as the extreme outcome of a denial of pregnancy. However, the process leading to such a possible outcome is not yet fully understood. The primary goal of this essay is to examine the various definitions and ambiguities surrounding the denial of pregnancy. The case of a young woman with a history of two denied pregnancies with diverse characteristics and outcomes, the latest of which resulted in neonaticide, is then reported and examined. A forensic psychiatric evaluation was also performed to reconstruct the woman's mental state at the time of the crime. The forensic pathological analysis of the newborn, abandoned near the sea while still alive, is described. The victim's body showed signs of shaken baby syndrome. We contend that differing levels of awareness during a denial of pregnancy might not be predictive of the potential delivery outcome in terms of threat to the newborn's survival, according to the forensic pathological and psychopathological data of the current case. Early identification of women affected by denial of pregnancy who pose a danger of committing infanticide is hampered by both intrinsic traits (dissimulation, unawareness, low propensity to seek assistance) and environmental factors (isolation, low socioeconomic level, poor education.). A previous history of denial of pregnancy should activate health and support services to reduce the potential risks for the mother and the child.

Egalitarianism, moral status and abortion: a reply to Miller.

Calum Miller recently argued that a commitment to a very modest form of egalitarianism-equality between non-disabled human adults-implies fetal personhood. Miller claims that the most plausible basis for human equality is in being human-an attribute which fetuses have-therefore, abortion is likely to be morally wrong. In this paper, I offer a plausible defence for the view that equality between non-disabled human adults does not imply fetal personhood. I also offer a challenge for Miller's view.

Orphans cannot be after-birth aborted: a response to Bobier.

I offer a response to an objection to my account of the moral difference between fetuses and newborns, an account that seeks to address an analogy between abortion and infanticide, which is based on the apparent equality of moral value of fetuses and newborns.

Expectativas de mães e cuidadoras sobre participação em um programa de prevenção à violência / Expectations of mothers/caregivers regarding the participation in a violence prevention program / Expectativas de madres/cuidadoras sobre la participación en un programa de prevención de la violencia

O presente estudo qualitativo objetivou compreender as expectativas de mães e cuidadoras sobre a sua participação no Programa ACT para Educar Crianças em Ambientes Seguros na versão remota, no período da pandemia de covid-19. Também visou identificar a percepção das participantes sobre educar uma criança em um ambiente seguro. Foram realizadas entrevistas semiestruturadas on-line com doze mães e cuidadoras, antes da participação no Programa ACT. Os resultados indicaram diferentes expectativas sobre a participação no Programa ACT, entre elas: adquirir novos conhecimentos, aprimorar as habilidades parentais, trocar experiências, receber auxílio no momento da pandemia de covid-19 e possibilitar para a criança um desenvolvimento saudável. Na percepção das mães e cuidadoras, a versão remota do Programa ACT apresenta aspectos positivos; entre eles, a participação de pais e cuidadores que não residem na cidade em que é oferecida a intervenção. No entanto, apontaram como fatores negativos a ausência do contato físico e as interrupções que podem acontecer a partir das falhas de internet. Para as mães e cuidadoras, educar a criança em um ambiente seguro estava relacionado a promover os direitos estabelecidos no Estatuto da Criança e do Adolescente (ECA), como educação, saúde, lazer, cuidado, afeto, assim como protegê-la de situações de violência. Considera-se que as expectativas das participantes estavam alinhadas aos objetivos do Programa ACT. Torna-se prioritário oferecer programas de prevenção à violência aos pais e cuidadores, em especial em momentos adversos como o da pandemia de covid-19, a fim de promover o desenvolvimento e a saúde das crianças, assim como prevenir situações de violação de direitos.(AU)

This qualitative study aims to understand the expectations of mothers and caregivers about participating in the ACT Raising Safe Kids Program in its remote version, during the COVID-19 pandemic period. It also aims to identify the participants' perception of raising a child in a safe environment. Semi-structured on-line interviews were conducted with 12 mothers/caregivers, prior to participation in the ACT Program. The results indicated different expectations regarding the participation in the ACT Program, for example: acquiring new knowledge, improving parenting skills, exchanging experiences, receiving support during the COVID-19 pandemic, and enabling the child to have a healthy development. In the perception of mothers and caregivers, the remote version of the ACT Program has positive aspects, such as the participation of parents and caregivers who do not live in the city where the intervention is offered. However, they pointed out as negative factors absence of physical contact and interruptions due to internet failures. For the mothers/caregivers, educating children in a safe environment was related to promoting the rights established by the Brazilian Child and Adolescent Statute, namely education, health, leisure, care, affection, as well as protecting them from situations of violence. The expectations of the participants were aligned with the objectives of the ACT Program. Offering violence prevention programs to parents and caregivers is a priority, especially in adverse moments such as the COVID-19 pandemic, in order to promote the development and health of children, as well as prevent situations of violation of rights.(AU)

Este estudio cualitativo pretendió comprender las expectativas de madres y cuidadoras sobre la participación en el Programa de ACT para Educar a Niños en Ambientes Seguros en la versión remota, en el periodo de la pandemia de la COVID-19. También se propuso identificar la percepción de las participantes sobre educar a un niño en un ambiente seguro. Se llevaron a cabo entrevistas semiestructuradas en línea con 12 madres/cuidadoras, antes de la participación en el Programa ACT. Los resultados señalaron diferentes expectativas con la participación del Programa de ACT, entre ellas: adquirir nuevos conocimientos, perfeccionar las habilidades parentales, intercambiar experiencias, recibir auxilio en el momento de la pandemia de la COVID-19 y posibilitar al niño un desarrollo saludable. En la percepción de las madres y cuidadoras, la versión remota del Programa de ACT presenta aspectos positivos, como la participación de padres y cuidadores que no residen en la ciudad donde es ofrecida la intervención. Sin embargo, señalaron como factores negativos la ausencia del contacto físico y las interrupciones, que pueden ocurrir por fallas en Internet. Para las madres/cuidadoras, educar al niño en un ambiente seguro estaba relacionado a promover los derechos establecidos en el Estatuto del Niño y del Adolescente de Brasil, como educación, salud, ocio, cuidado, afecto, así como protegerlo de situaciones de violencia. Se considera que las expectativas de las participantes estaban alineadas con los objetivos del Programa de ACT. Es prioritario ofrecer programas de prevención a la violencia a los padres y cuidadores, en especial en momentos adversos como el de la pandemia de la COVID-19, con el fin de promover el desarrollo y la salud de los niños, así como prevenir situaciones de vulneración de derechos.(AU)

Domperidone Use as a Galactagogue and Infanticide Ideation: A Case Report.

Objectives: Domperidone is an antiemetic that is commonly used as an off-label prescription to induce lactation. Neuropsychiatric adverse effects of domperidone such as akathisia and depression are previously described. It has never been reported to be associated with infanticide ideation. The aim of this article is to discuss the occurrence of infanticide ideation following domperidone usage in an adoptive mother and the potential mechanisms by which these may occur. Methods: With Institutional Review Board approval, we herein report a nulliparous adoptive mother who developed infanticide ideation after 3 months of exposure to domperidone. The infanticide ideation was intrusive, recurrent, ego-dystonic, causing significant depressive symptoms and affecting the patient's functions. Physical examination and relevant biological investigations were unremarkable. Results: The patient is treated as domperidone-induced obsessional thought with adjustment disorder. The domperidone was stopped immediately. Serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors was started. The infanticide ideation gradually resolved and patient achieved complete remission after 10 months of treatment. Conclusion: The infanticide ideation following consumption of domperidone is a potential neuropsychiatric adverse event that warrants further examination into the safety of domperidone as an "off-labeled" galactagogue. Comprehensive psychological assessment of mother who wishes to use domperidone as galactagogue is recommended.

[The invisible pregnancy: Clinical characteristics and perspectives about denial of pregnancy]. / La grossesse invisible : caractéristiques cliniques et perspectives autour du déni de grossesse.

Denial of pregnancy is a public health problem due to maternal, fetal, and neonatal morbidity, affecting both physical and mental health. It generally involves an absence of the physical signals associated with pregnancy such as abdominal swelling, amenorrhea, weight gain, or even perception of fetal movements. Despite the potential consequences for mother and child, there is still little data on its clinical features and the neurocognitive mechanisms involved. In this paper, we provide an update on the clinical, socio-demographic, and psychopathological characteristics of pregnancy denial based on contemporary scientific literature. We first define denial of pregnancy by referring to the history of the concept, previous definitions, and nosographic classifications. We then detail the clinic of denial by distinguishing the physical and psychological symptoms of this disorder, then the socio-demographic, gynecological, and psychiatric characteristics. We describe the consequences of denial on the mother, infant, and the dyad, referring to situations of cryptic neonaticide. Finally, we show the importance of perinatal neuroscience research on maternal interoception to understand the mechanisms involved in denial of pregnancy, and improve their medical management in clinical practice.

Experiences and perspectives of women who have committed neonaticide, infanticide and filicide: A systematic review and qualitative evidence synthesis.

WHAT IS KNOWN ON THE SUBJECT?: The phenomenon of child killing (neonaticide, infanticide or filicide) is a rare event that cannot be fully explained by a single construct as each case involves the unique life circumstances of each woman who committed the act(s). WHAT THE PAPER ADDS TO EXISTING KNOWLEDGE?: The majority of women who committed neonaticide, infanticide or filicide regretted the act and regretted not seeking help from family and healthcare professionals. Women who committed neonaticide, infanticide or filicide in the main had complex circumstances characterised by poverty, abusive relationships, poor family and social support or over reliance on family supports and mental health issues. WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE?: Women require a clear plan of what to do if they feel overwhelmed with caring for a baby or child. Healthcare professionals involved with women in the perinatal period need to explore further women's expressions of "not being ready to be a mother" which for some women may be pathological and require further assessment. Women need to be made aware of the support service pathways available to them during the perinatal period and beyond. Further research is needed to explore and learn from women's experiences to reduce child homicide mortality and support women and their families. ABSTRACT: INTRODUCTION: Meaning and personal experiences of the acts of neonaticide, infanticide and filicide have rarely been investigated from the perspectives of the women who committed those acts. AIMS: To identify and synthesise evidence on the perspectives of women directly involved in the complex phenomena of neonaticide, infanticide or filicide from the evidence available on their unique point of view and how these experiences have affected women's lives. To understand how the experiences and perceptions of women who engaged in child killing present similarities or differences according to the child's age at time of death. METHODS: Qualitative primary studies published in English were included if they explored the experiences of women who engaged in neonaticide, infanticide or filicide. Methodological quality was assessed using the qualitative Critical Appraisal Skills Programme (CASP) checklist. A thematic analysis framework guided the synthesis. RESULTS: Seven papers reporting on five studies met the inclusion criteria for the review. Three analytical themes were identified: Not ready to be a mother; Intentionality and premeditation in the context of trauma and mental health issues; Sorrow of regret. DISCUSSION: The majority of women who committed neonaticide, infanticide or filicide had complex psychological, social and personal circumstances and in the main regretted the act and regretted not seeking help from family and healthcare professionals. Healthcare professionals in contact with women during the perinatal period and beyond need to be aware of the profiles of vulnerable women and undertake holistic integrated assessments to identify the woman's personal context, changes in interpersonal relationships, social isolation or over reliance on family supports and changes in mental health status or new onset of mental health conditions. IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: Women require a clear plan of what to do if they feel overwhelmed with caring for a baby or child. Healthcare professionals involved with women in the perinatal period need to explore further women's expressions of "not being ready to be a mother" which for some women might be pathological and require further assessment. Women need to be made aware of the support services pathways available to them during the perinatal period and beyond. Further research is needed to explore and learn from women's experiences of each of the phenomena separately to reduce child homicide mortality and support women and their families.

An audit of foeticide, neonaticide and infanticide: A retrospective study in the Department of Forensic Medicine, King Edward Medical University, Lahore.

The deliberate killing of a foetus in the womb, or a child from the first 24 h of birth to one month of age, or within the first year of life, is called foeticide, neonaticide and infanticide, respectively. Socioeconomic stress, mental illness, gender selection, shame or fear of punishment of adultery or illegitimacy, grudge and jealousy with parents and negligent delivery by dai are major causative factors in such cases. This is a retrospective, descriptive, observational study, and the sample pool consisted of 35 cases. Foeticide cases were 42.9% of the total and the same percentage of cases were neonaticides, while 14.3% of cases were of infanticide. The male-to-female ratio was 1.26:1 and the major cause of death was head injury. The study shows a prevalence of foeticide and neonaticide as compared to infanticide. It also displays the prevalence of males in overall cases and a higher number of unknown cases in our setting.

Towards a new understanding of pregnancy denial: the misunderstood dissociative disorder.

Pervasive pregnancy denial is a misunderstood reproductive anomaly which compromises the health of both mother and the developing fetus. Because in extreme cases, the death of the neonate at the hands of his/her mother has criminal repercussions, research has attempted to explain the origins of this clinical phenomenon. The purpose of this review is to analyze the evolution of understanding the association between pregnancy denial and neonaticide. This paper identifies the consistent similarities in symptom presentation, particularly dissociation, when a denied pregnancy ends with the death of the newborn. The common thread across the progression of the literature over time serves as a foundation for considering the development of diagnostic criteria for future inclusion in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. This paper reviews the seminal research from 1969 to current research up to 2020 addressing pregnancy denial and its connection to neonaticide. Peer reviewed and published articles related to key terms around "pregnancy denial," "pregnancy concealment," "neonaticide," and "dissociation" were retrieved from major databases such as PubMed, PsychINFO, JSTOR, ProQEST, ScienceDirect, and Google Scholar. Reference lists of relevant articles were also scanned to search for further papers pertaining to similarities in symptom presentation across demographic profiles. Papers were excluded if they were not available in English, or if they did not contribute to identifying consistencies in clinical presentation when a pregnancy is denied. There are clear repetitive markers that occur across studies which pertain not only to the frequent absence of certain expected indicators of pregnancy, (i.e. no morning sickness, weight gain, or sensations of fetal movement), but also the misattribution of pregnancy-related symptoms, and the consistent experience of a dissociative episode while giving birth that can unintentionally result in neonaticide. This paper concludes that dissociation is a consistently seen symptom in pervasive pregnancy denial. Dissociation, in addition to other commonly seen symptoms across cases, suggests specific diagnostic criteria that lend themselves to inclusion in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders.

Sex ratios and gender discrimination in Modern Greece.

This paper argues that son preference resulted in gender-based discriminatory practices that unduly increased mortality rates for females at birth and throughout infancy and childhood in nineteenth- and early-twentieth-century Greece. The relative numbers of boys and girls at birth was extremely high and under-registration of females cannot on its own explain this result. The infanticide and/or mortal neglect of infant girls was therefore more common than previously acknowledged. Likewise, sex ratios increased as children grew older, thus suggesting that parents continued to treat boys and girls differently throughout childhood. A large body of qualitative evidence (contemporary accounts, folklore traditions, feminist newspapers, and anthropological studies) further supports the conclusion that girls were neglected due to their inferior status in society.

Why appeals to the moral significance of birth are saddled with a dilemma.

In 'Dilemma for Appeals to the Moral Significance of Birth', we argued that a dilemma is faced by those who believe that birth is the event at which infanticide is ruled out. Those who reject the moral permissibility of infanticide by appeal to the moral significance of birth must either accept the moral permissibility of a late-term abortion for a non-therapeutic reason or not. If they accept it, they need to account for the strong intuition that her decision is wrong as well as deny the underlying normative principle that killing a viable fetus requires good reason, and not wanting to care for the child when the child could be easily placed for adoption is not a good enough reason to abort. If they reject the moral permissibility of the late-term abortion, they need to explain why her decision is wrong. Doing so, however, will undermine their own project of denying infanticide by appeal to birth. Walter Veit argues that the dilemma relies too much on intuition and does not live up to biological continuity. We explain why his criticisms are unconvincing.